highlight/lowlight

this is a thing i learned from minjue. some people are reluctant to participate, but i think it's nice. i was asked how my week was, and as i was thinking about it, i realized that it was a pretty great week.

highlight:
my lesson on monday went pretty well. i spoke a little fast - slower than normal, but still too fast considering the fact that the class is a bilingual class and all the kids are english language learners. but they all had a fun time looking over their zodiac signs, learning to count to 10 in chinese, and practicing the use of chopsticks. and they applauded when the lesson was over. my advisor had a lot of positive things to say about my lesson and he mentioned that it was the first time he'd seen a class applaud after a lesson. haha. so thanks for all the encouragement about my first whole class lesson.

the rest of the week went the same. i've just been having a really positive experience with my first student teaching assignment, though many of my teammates are not. the silver lining that i find in their difficult situations is that they're being challenged and stretched in ways that i'm not. they're having to deal with rowdy classrooms with students who won't focus on the class materials. those are real situations that are likely to be the kinds of classrooms we'll really be in next year. i'm extremely thankful that i've been blessed to be in the class that i'm in, but a little part of me feels like i'm not being forced into learning how to tread water, so to speak.

oh, the other highlights include hula-hooping with my class. my guiding teacher received a nutrition grant and as part of the grant, they were able to get an exercise instructor to encourage physical fitness as a part of nutrition. so all the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade kids got to participate. the kids were hilarious. and yesterday, i saw a production of sweeney todd. one of the guys from church was in it. i've never seen sweeney todd before, but i had a vague idea of the storyline and it was pretty darn entertaining. and tonight, i saw proof, the stage play and a girl from church was the lead. i really enjoyed that show too. there is something equally amazing and terrifying about the relationships we have with our parents, especially the role reversal when the kids start taking care of the parents. oh, and my friend who i carpool with's neighbor told her to tell me he thought i was cute. this is a highlight because it's better than being told you're not cute.

lowlight:
traffic. LA traffic really does suck. it took me an hour and 20 minutes to get from my apartment to little tokyo. the trip is only 15 miles. i made the poor decision to forego the freeway, thinking there would be stopped traffic. then i made a series of poor choices that ended up taking more time. lesson: just take the freeway, it'll still be faster than attempting a "short cut" through local roads.

and the seahawks are in the superbowl! i'm not into football, but i'm just glad a sports team from one of my "home" cities is getting a championship shot! yay!